A new and improved version of a national reciprocity law entitled the Constitutional Carry Reciprocity Act has been introduced in both the House and Senate. With the President Elect already committing to sign it should it be passed by Congress; will this finally be the time to get this passed? OR… will it be just another visibility bill killed by the old guard?
The anti-gun left has always equated firearm ownership and use (a right) with driver’s licenses (a privilege). Yet while a driver’s license from any state is valid in every state, concealed carry licenses are generally limited to the state they are issued in. There are some states who recognize other states’ concealed carry permits through individual reciprocity agreements, but some states, typically the most adamant anti-gun states, refuse to recognize any conceal carry permits other than their own.
Just a comment on state lines. These days they mean next to nothing and the closer you live to one, they mean even less than that. We are a highly mobile society and going across state borders is as unceremonious as going town to town, neighborhood to neighborhood, street to street. Politicians love them because they can rule over their domains to their own benefit, but very few people do anything different one state to the next.
For those who haven’t been paying attention, there are now 29 states where constitutional carry – carrying a concealed firearm without a state issued permit – is now legal. The last 13 being brought in since the current (as of 01/19/24) anti-gun administration began. That’s more than half the states in the country where 46.8% of Americans (157.6 million) now live in constitutional carry states, with 67.7% of the land in the country (2.57 million square miles).
Interestingly enough, the number of concealed carry permit holders, 21.5 million, has gone down as the number of constitutional carry states increased. The reason is understandable as people who once were required to get a government issued permit no longer need to, saving the time, administrative hassle and costs associated with obtaining and keeping a permit valid. Those who do obtain one generally do so for additional benefits such as expanded carry zones, reciprocity with other states and no duty to inform on interactions with law enforcement.
Let’s also remember what the anti-gun extremists warned would happen when all these states dropped their permit requirements. They claimed it would be the “wild, wild west” and “blood would flow in the streets”, and called it “criminal carry”. What really happened? Violent crime in the constitutional carry states went down. Go figure.
Also, according to a recent law enforcement survey of working officers, not the politically appointed politicians with badges at the head of the agencies:
More than 91 percent of respondents support the concealed carry of firearms by civilians who have not been convicted of a felony and/or not been deemed psychologically/ medically incapable.
A full 86 percent feel that casualties would have been reduced or avoided in recent tragedies like Newtown and Aurora if a legally armed citizen was present (casualties reduced: 80 percent; avoided altogether: 60 percent).
House H.R. 38 and the Senate counterpart S. 65 says, in part:
“A person who is not prohibited by Federal law from possessing, transporting, shipping, or receiving a firearm, who is carrying a valid identification document containing a photograph of the person, and who is carrying a valid license or permit which is issued pursuant to the law of a State and which permits the person to carry a concealed firearm or is entitled to carry a concealed firearm in the State in which the person resides, may possess or carry a concealed handgun (other than a machine gun or destructive device) that has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, in any State…”
There is already one conceal carry permit in the form of LEOSA (Law Enforcement Officer Safety Act). However, this applies only to qualified current, retired and separated law enforcement officials. It has also been summarily ignored by several anti-gun states even though the federal law has precedence over the state law. Properly credentialed LEOSA officers have been arrested and had firearms confiscated but released in the morning without charges. It’s the old cop saying, “you can’t take back a night in jail”. This harassment of law enforcement officers carrying under federal law may preview how some states will treat those carrying under a new national reciprocity act.
What will it take to get this passed by the House and Senate, and sent to the President for his signature? A miracle.
While the House version now caims “bipartisan support” thanks to the unusual endorsement of one of Maine’s anti-gun Democrats, this doesn’t mean it will pass. The Senate is even less likely since it will require Democrat support due to the razor thin Republican majority. But that’s only part of the story.
While the Republican party holds a majority in both houses, it also contains a record crash [sic] of RINOs who will do anything and everything to stop it. The motivation is in two parts. One that they really are anti-gun elitists who enjoy having firearms protecting THEM, but don’t want the rabble they represent to have them. The other is they don’t want to allow the President to make good on a campaign promise, even if it means their constituents must choose between leaving their firearms at their state line and not be able to defend themselves or break the law of other states in order to protect themselves and their families away from home.
This means it’s up to us to let our federal representatives in the House and Senate know our support for these bills. This is especially true for those of us, like me, with RINO representation. They represent US, and we need to remind them of that.
The time has finally come for National Constitutional Carry Reciprocity, so let’s make it happen.
Bob
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